Research Reports

ArtsEdSearch
ArtsEdSearch is the nation’s hub for research on the impact of the arts in education. You can find summaries of relevant studies by using the search box, or by browsing research by outcome.

Arts Education for America’s Students, A Shared Endeavor
The National Art Education Association (NAEA), in partnership with 12 national arts and education organizations, has released Arts Education for America’s Students, A Shared Endeavor, a statement outlining the importance of high quality arts education and those responsible for providing it to students. A Shared Endeavor articulates the purpose and value of art education in the balanced curriculum of all students, asserts its place as a core academic subject area, and details how sequential arts learning can be supported by rigorous national standards and assessments.

Americans for the Arts – Reports and Data
To make a case for the arts and expand arts programs and initiatives in your community, you need the power of data to inform your decisions and build support for those decisions. Find a wide array of information and data-rich resources, publications, reports, fact sheets, and tool kits to help you do just that.

Americans for the Arts – Research Studies & Publications
We know how hard you work to build arts programs in your community. Americans for the Arts produces a number of annual publications, e-newsletters, and reports to help you make the case for arts funding, educate lawmakers and citizens, and lead effective advocacy campaigns. We also conduct and produce research, surveys, and reports about the arts in America to provide quantitative, measurable impact of our field. See: Americans for the Arts Publications; Arts & Economic Prosperity IV; Arts Index; and Creative Industries.

Measures of Teaching Effectiveness
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has released its third and final research report on Measures of Teaching Effectiveness. Media coverage of the release has been extensive. In addition to the three reports, a set of guiding principles (see below) has also been issued. The MET project’s reports and publications are available on the project’s website.

The Arts in Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Benefits of Arts Participation: A Literature Review and Gap-Analysis (2000-2015)
The Arts in Early Childhood synthesized findings from 18 recent reports in psychology and education research journals. These studies focused on the social and emotional outcomes of young children who participated in art forms such as music, dance, theater, drawing, and painting. These quantitative studies looked at typically developing populations, as well as children with autism spectrum disorder. For more information go to www.arts.gov.

President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities Releases Arts Education Study Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools
Reinvesting in Arts Education makes a compelling case for arts education and the essential role it will play in preparing students for success in the knowledge and innovation economy. This report shows us the link between arts education and achievement in other subjects. It documents that the process of making art –– whether is it written, performed, sculpted, photographed, lmed, danced, or painted –– prepares children for success in the workforce not simply as artists, but all professions. Most importantly, it makes a compelling argument for creating arts-rich schools and engaging artists in ways that complement the study of other subjects such as literature, history, science, and mathematics.

Government Documents

ArtScan
ArtScan, a project of the Arts Education Partnership, is a searchable clearinghouse of the latest state policies supporting education in and through the arts from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

STATE OF THE STATES 2016 – Arts Education State Policy Summary
The State of the States 2016 summarizes state policies for arts education identified in statute or administrative code for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Information is based on a comprehensive search of state education statute and codes on each state’s relevant websites. Complete results from this review are available in an online searchable database at www.aep-arts.org.

Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies (National Endowment for the Arts)
Having the arts in young people’s lives is essential; we know that intuitively. Parents sing to their babies, dance with their toddlers, and occupy children with crayons and paper. And there was a time in this country when schools did their parts: bands, choruses, theatricals, and art studios used to fill the days alongside the 3 Rs, gym, social studies, science, and the rest. But over the past four decades, budget pressures andan increasing focus on just reading and math have crowded the arts out of too many school days. What’s lost? The chance for a child to express himself. The chance for the idiosyncratic child who has not yet succeeded elsewhere to shine. A sense of play, of fun, of discovery. James Catterall and his fellow authors have shown that something else is lost, too: potential. Students who have arts-rich experiences in school do better across-the-board academically, and they also become more active and engaged citizens, voting, volunteering, and generally participating at higher rates than their peers.

Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10
This report presents selected findings from a congressionally mandated study on arts education in public K–12 schools. The data were collected through seven Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) surveys during the 2009-10 school year. This report provides national data about arts education for public elementary and secondary schools, elementary classroom teachers, and elementary and secondary music and visual arts specialists. Comparisons with data from the 1999–2000 FRSS arts education study are included where applicable.

• Browse the supplemental tables of this report
• Download, view and print the report
• Download, view and print the supplemental tables
• Download, view and print the Arts Flyer
• Errata sheet for the report

Additional Supplemental Table: Number and percent of students in public elementary and secondary schools without instruction designated specifically for music, visual arts, dance or drama/theatre, by school poverty level: school years 2008-09 and 2009-10
Additional Supplemental Table: Percent of public elementary and secondary schools with instruction designated specifically for music, by school type: school years 2008-09 and 2009-10
Additional Supplemental Table: Elementary Schools With and Without Music Specialists